


miscommunication

by jasminetea



Series: the wine and the women, the bedroom hymns [9]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: AU of my AU, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Charles Always Says the Absolute Worst Thing He Could Possibly Say, Courtship, Honestly Charles What Are You Thinking, M/M, Miscommunication, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, What happens in XMRB Chat doesn't always stay in XMRB Chat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-09 20:18:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19893751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jasminetea/pseuds/jasminetea
Summary: "Yes. I'm sorry, this was a mistake. I'll leave now."(A bonus, non-canon ficlet for this AU)





	miscommunication

**Author's Note:**

> This is not "canon compliant," since I didn't want any angst in the official canon, but I suppose it doesn't contradict this fic's canon either.
> 
> Written for the anon who requested, "Yes, I'm sorry, this was a mistake, I shall leave now." And with thanks to the XMRB chat for encouraging me to write this. 
> 
> Written to Emeli Sande's [Mountains](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7daEPT6LYE) and [Maybe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZlaMVcVrJQ).

Erik's face is brutally open for a small moment that feels like an eternity. Charles can see the hurt and pain working its way across him, and then it's replaced by a careful blankness.  
  
"Yes. I'm sorry, this was a mistake. I'll leave now."  
  
It's then that Charles realizes he's losing him in this moment. Erik's never spoken to him like that, not even when they first met. The careful, sparse words were always reserved for people Erik didn't consider his own. Erik's not even standing close the way he usually does, doesn't have a hand tentatively on his shoulder or neck like he usually does.  
  
This is what it feels like to not be part of Erik's group he considers his own, and Charles feels miserable.  
  
"Erik..."  
  
"No, it's alright Charles. I understand." Erik moves to the small table near the door and picks up his keys and puts his raincoat back on.  
  
And Charles knows there's nothing he can say right now that can make Erik stay. There'll be tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that to convince Erik that's now what he meant at all. So for now, he lets Erik leave.  
  
Charles wants this. He wants this relationship to grow and thrive. Erik's been unerringly patient, and Charles is figuring out all the social niceties of being an omega he missed. And he'll be damned if a verbal miscommunication puts an end to something this good.  
  
He heads to the living room -- already feeling empty without Erik there -- to look through the omega books his friends have been dumping on him. Surely Miss Manners or _Help! My Child is a Late-Bloomer, the Revised Omega Edition_ has an answer to why Erik suddenly thinks he's rejecting him.  
  
As he's searching the bookshelves the crowded room for the Dear Abby collection, he finds a boxed set of Michael Crichton novels. He takes the whole thing off the shelf, looking at it this way and that. He's sure he doesn't own these, although he's wanted them for awhile.  
  
He takes out the first book in the set, _Rising Sun_ , and as he cracks open the cover, there's a sticky note pressed inside.  
  
_Once you get through Jurassic Park, movie night, my place?_  
  
Even without a signature, Charles knows it's Erik's handwriting. Charles remembers this conversation; Erik's a thriller kind of man, Charles has been reading romances for longer than he cares to admit thanks to Raven, and Erik was insistent Charles broaden his prospects. Charles still thinks Anita Blake counts as something other than romance, but Erik had been adamant; if Charles would give Crichton a try, Erik would find a way to stomach one of Charles' romances. And Erik knows him too well; he knew Charles would never buy the books himself, despite all the planning he'd put into what he'd make Erik read -- erotic, paranormal, kinky, or just old school romance?  
  
Charles sighs and falls onto the sofa. He holds the book open across his chest and sighs.  
  
He reads the first pages, and stays up late into the night, both to finish the book, and trying to figure out how to fix this.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it folks, I've finally posted everything I have for this AU. Thank you so much to everyone who's commented then and now! I never imagined my fluffy take on the A/B/O AU would be so well received!
> 
> I still have other Erik/Charles and non-XMFC fics to xpost here too. I'm not sure yet if I'll backdate those or not, so please subscribe to my author profile if those are of interest to you.


End file.
